Best Heart Rate Monitor in 2022 - Polar H10 vs Wahoo Tickr

[@NoBrakes23]

My first generation TICKR was lovely from 2015 to 2020. The new TICKR has never worked well. Constant pairing issues with the ELEMNT Bolt, roasting batteries within 2 months, (Used to get nearly a year out of the old one,) and Heart Rate errors of 40+bpm. Wahoo customer service aren't much help.

[@Mapdec]

Think Wahoo are close to bankruptcy now.

[@cfcluk20]

I was thinking im the only one. I had the old gen Tickr and it worked really well. Since I got the new one I have only had problems. On my last ride I had a 225bpm avg Heart Rate. Guess the only thing I wouldnt complain about is wahoos customer service (although id prefer it, if i didnt have to contact them at all, they have replaced my Tickr twice now). But even my second replacement (3rd unit) is now giving me headaches…

[@niceone6739]

Did you say Wahoo easy to change battery? Every time I change the battery I break the cap. It is a common problem, it has little tabs that are easy to break.

[@neebotha77]

My Wahoo Tickr is very unreliable. Using it with zwift it drops connection or throws wildly inaccurate readings regularly

[@Mapdec]

What are you connecting it to and by what signal?

[@neebotha77]

@@Mapdec I'm using Apple TV so connecting via BT with a Kickr core also connected via BT

[@Mapdec]

Maybe check line of sight and distance. Battery will need to virtually new if much more than 1m away.

[@neebotha77]

@@Mapdec I'm really close to the unit. Brand new batteries of different brands tried. Giving up on Wahoo. My Kickr has never been right since day one either

[@Mapdec]

That’s a real shame. Only other thing could be some interference.

[@floydie9255]

The Polar H10 is the only HRM that I haven't been able to kill, Garmin, Wahoo, Magene etc all died within 6 months.

[@quinla01]

Maybe I'm missing something, but you said both devices had dual Bluetooth connectivity early in the video. Then you focused on how you prefer the Polar because it has dual Bluetooth connectivity. You discuss Heart Rate Variability and DFAa1, but is it not a 3rd party app that calculates this? You end by saying, "this is the one to choose for all of those reasons". Assuming both do have dual Bluetooth, what other reasons did you give? Thanks.

[@Mapdec]

In hindsight I could have been clearer. The H10 is the only one capable of the HRV and ECG features I went on to explain. Thanks for asking.

[@midsfella]

Haha, I've just had delivered today a Polar H10.... I'm hoping to use this for DFA1 alpha testing... I'd love to hear your thoughts / video on using it for a test..

[@Mapdec]

I think a vid that compares it to the V02 and Moxy data would be very worthwhile. Just need to think how to make it interesting enough for folk to want to watch. Have fun with the H10. You’ll learn loads.

[@foundfoundfound1]

the polar verity sense optical hrm is also excellent. it doesn’t measure hrv but has two bluetooth channels and a recording/storing capacity: useful for activities where a watch can’t be worn, eg. boxing.

[@Mapdec]

Good to know, thanks.

[@xelionizer]

That Wahoo unit you have on display in the video doesn't look like the Tickr X, it looks like the standard gen 3 one???

[@Mapdec]

Well spotted. Nothing interesting about the X worth adding.

[@bbartel1978]

Sorry, I'm not understanding what's better about the Polar than the Tickr X. From what I can tell it has dual bluetooth and can get HRV so is Polar more accurate or what is the difference?

[@Mapdec]

This was made before the Tickr X, but the Polar still has the edge because of HRV validation and ECG.

[@Kobor_Tamas]

Does Polar H10 cooperate well with Garmin watches?

[@Mapdec]

Yes. Very well.

[@arhon888]

I have the Polar H10. All the sotware I have seen has been geared around fitness training. I was wondering if the H10 could be useful to my father who is 80 for diognistic purposes as apposed to sport?

[@Mapdec]

There is some good 3rd party apps. The one in the video is good. Careful of the word diagnostic. That’s something for doctors and pro kit. But to help identify activity’s that might trigger an irregularity, that is a possibility. There are some desktop app you can upload a days worth of HRV data to and really deep dive.

[@henrivdm1]

Would you still recommend the Polar H10 ahead of the Wahoo TICKR 2 X ?

[@Mapdec]

The H10 is still the only strap validated for HRV study and an ecg. It is still proving to be impressively reliable.

[@henrivdm1]

@@Mapdec thanks a million. I have my Polar H10 now and so far fantastic - no issues pairing with my Garmin watches and Wahoo Elemnt. The only thing I am a little disappointed with is the Polar HRV functionality in the mobile apps - nothing on Polar Beat, and only a basic 'Fitness Test' on the Polar Flow app. When looking at the Polar flow cloud app it seems that you need to have a Polar watch to make use of the HRV functionality natively within the Polar ecology. Are there any (simple) Android apps that you can suggest that would serve as a good introduction into the world of using HRV and experimenting with DFAa1 (suitable for a fit 55 year old amateur as opposed to an Elite athlete) ? I have trained with Heart Rate now for over 20 years, so very excited to widen the horizons a little.

[@Mapdec]

There are much better apps compatible with the H10 than the actual polar apps. Some I mention in the video. I should probably do another.

[@basil7606]

Hi, any alternative to the Wahoo chest strap?

[@Mapdec]

The Polar H10

[@basil7606]

@@Mapdec I mean cheaper option for the chest strap haha

[@Mapdec]

@@basil7606 polar H9. I’m doing some testing with Coospo. Watch this space.

[@jah0963]

Came to this video because my third TCKR X has crapped out in a year. I’m no serious athlete but train indoors during the winter four times a week. It’s June, got my first TCKR X in October. Is the battery case waterproof? Seems the TCKR is not as all three had rusted batteries and contacts.

[@jamesmahoney1878]

Apologies for dumb question but will both pair with Zwift? I have an old Polar and old Garmins they will not

[@Mapdec]

Depends on the device you are using to run Zwift

[@jamesmahoney1878]

@@Mapdec An Ipad?

[@Mapdec]

Yeah. BLE works really well. You’ll even be able to record ecg in background

[@jamesmahoney1878]

@@Mapdec think I will invest with the Polar thank u so much

[@jamesmahoney1878]

I am guessing that will pair ok with a Garmin Fennox 5 plus? The Garmin straps are crazy momey

[@100nirosta]

Good day. Do you know when the new Polar H11 will come out? 2. And what do you think the new H11 or the new Wahoo will be able to control oxygen saturation? 3. If you have a lot of hair on your chest, will the Polar H10 still be able to measure your heart rate? .-,-

[@Mapdec]

No info on the H11. Measuring Oxygen Saturation is something that needs to be done on a specific muscle, so I doubt that will feature. Possibly SpO2, rather than SmO2. Hairy chests can cause issues. You can use a conducting gel to help.

[@100nirosta]

@@Mapdec yes, I had SpO2. It would be nice if Polar H11 added this feature.

[@Mapdec]

SpO2 not really worth measuring during exercise, it shouldn’t change much. If it did you would know about it.

[@100nirosta]

@@Mapdec I have to admit that polar does not have the function to measure SpO2. Whether during training or after training.

[@100nirosta]

@@Mapdec Kann man mit Polar h10 und der Polar Beat App EKG Messungen machen?

[@vogtek1]

Generally I love my wahoo ELEMNT but the Tickr is a joke. First one ate batteries for breakfast and was soon replaced on warranty. The new one after a year completely stopped pairing up. Definitely not due to overuse as I am a complete amateur runner/cyclist

[@BernardGCZ]

How does the Polar H10 compare to the Garmin HRM Pro?

[@Mapdec]

The polar is the only that can do R-R intervals for ECG and DFAa1. The Garmin Pro works fine if HRV data doesn’t bother you.

[@simongrushka983]

Tickr X has dual blutooth. Apps are much better for tickr, while (on the android) polar's app is retarded (eg requires gps all the time etc). H10 is better for HIIT execrices as it 'catches up' with sudden increases of heart rate. unless you do hiit/hict i'd stick to tickr X

[@Mapdec]

I should revisit this review. The new Wahoo looks promising.

[@viqol]

Wahoo tickr is a joke. After 2 years of rather little usage it broke (gives false readings by huge margin)